


It’s Not Like I Care

by prompt_fills



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Angst, Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstandings, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Spanish National Team, Translation Available
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-05-23 05:40:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14928191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prompt_fills/pseuds/prompt_fills
Summary: Sergio reached out and patted the crest on Gerard’s chest, feeling the frantic heartbeat under his fingers. “You okay?”After you realize you’ve fallen in love with someone, the next words they say to you will appear on your skin if they are your soulmate.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to [casevan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/casevan/works) who translated the story into **Chinese** so you can read it [**here**](http://futballgogogo.lofter.com/post/1f9bdf15_ef172e7a).

Sergio whooped and clapped as Isco handed their trophy to Thiago. Thiago hoisted it up over his head, holding it for the crowd to see. The fans screeched in delight because this year, _La Roja_ stood victorious.

In that wonderful, hypnotizing moment, Sergio felt intensely alive. The crowd bellow them cheered, overcome with joy. Someone started singing and the melody grew more powerful as people joined in, the air was shaking with it, the thrill of their victory shared between all of them.

Sergio didn’t dare to hope he’d experience this ever again but here they were now, celebrating their victory. People were ecstatic.

Sergio wished the night would last forever.

Grinning, he spread his arms and urged the fans to make even more noise. Iniesta’s hand was clutching Sergio’s shoulder, the grip almost painful. Sergio saw it in his eyes, the disbelief that they were here once more and very likely for the last time.

“Sorry,” Jordi mumbled as his elbow jabbed Sergio in the back.

Sergio turned around and his face cleared when he noticed Jordi was handing out more drinks to make use of the time it took them to get from the stadium back to their hotel.

He relieved Jordi of three cups, shoving one in Iniesta’s hand. “Here, live a little,” Sergio said and then, holding out the other cup, he turned to Gerard.

Gerard didn’t accept the drink. He didn’t even seem to register the hand Sergio stretched out in his direction. Gerard was looking right through Sergio. His eyes were wide and his face was draining colour impressively quickly.

Sergio shrugged, watching the celebrating crowd bellow them as he downed the would-be-Gerard’s drink himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Gerard was still completely frozen, face ashen, eyes unseeing. There was a very peculiar expression on Gerard’s face.

Sergio could hear how his breath quickened and when Gerard made a choked off sound, Sergio turned his attention to him again. Gerard was panicking, cheeks flushed, expression a little terrified – and that could only mean one thing.

Gerard realized who was the love of his life. Sergio’s face broke into a grin. “So, who is it?” He leant closer to Gerard, wondering how long it would take until Gerard got a mark.

Sergio was lucky to have witnessed plenty of markings and it never got old. There was something magical about the moment, a pleasant whiff in the air, a sweet smell of a freshly realized love. Sometimes it came as a shock, sometimes it was inevitable and everyone else saw it coming. Sometimes the object of one’s affections was present, sometimes they were miles away.

As far as Sergio knew, Gerard wasn’t seeing anyone, so a sudden realization it was. Perhaps even a love at first sight. Sergio flicked his gaze over the masses of celebrating fans and snorted. Good luck with that, he thought.

Gerard shook himself from the initial haze and cradled his arm to his chest, palm pressed against his heart. His eyes were still impossibly wide and panicked.

“Well?” Sergio prodded, arching an eyebrow. With this much commotion, Gerard was risking the cameras or the fans noticing Gerard’s tale-telling behaviour. Unless Gerard wanted to have the theories about his love life overshadow his performance during the Cup, he’d better stop acting weird.

Then again, if it was a love at first sight, Gerard would have to fess up publically to find his girl again. There were so many people down there, celebrating with them. A whole sea of faces – Sergio could barely tell them apart from how far up they were. How did Gerard get himself into this mess was beyond him.

Sergio took a thoughtful sip of his drink as the parade went on.

Gerard stood tall and silent, knuckles going white where his hands were gripping the railing of the bus. No traces of the usual exuberant joy that commonly accompanied the moment of realization could be found in his expression. He was visibly troubled by something more powerful than the thrill of their victory.

Sergio reached out and patted the crest on Gerard’s chest, feeling the frantic heartbeat under his fingers. “You okay?” 

Gerard jerked away. “Why do you care, it’s none of your business.”

So their tentative truce was over already, Sergio mused bitterly. “I don’t care.” He won’t be Gerard’s captain again. He finished his second drink in a few gulps and chucked the plastic cup at Gerard’s head as he turned to leave. “You can choke.” 

It was a wonderful night and Sergio would be damned if he let Gerard spoil it for him with his drama.


	2. Chapter 2

If it were up to them, they would stay up all night. Unfortunately, there were more reasonable people on the team who were no fun and made sure everyone would be ready to board the plane tomorrow.

They got shuttled back to their hotel and though some of them suggested taking up the lounge to drink and celebrate some more, they were outvoted.

Madrid expected to greet them tomorrow and the celebrations would continue once the cup was in the country, ready to be presented to the Spanish fans back home.

Sergio was shuffling his feet down the corridor to get to his hotel room, patting his pockets, looking for his key card. There was some giggling from Nacho and Marco who were on the same floor.

Sergio turned his pockets inside out but still didn’t find his card. He pouted, debating whether he should get back down to get another card from the receptionist or if that was a waste of time and he should just crash with some of the other guys.

He let out a weary sigh, scratching his head. “Uh. Guys?” He addressed Marco and Nacho who were still lingering in the corridor.

Marco started laughing, which gave him away. Sergio punched his shoulder. “Give me my card back, you fucker,” he demanded, glaring at Marco until he was given his card back. The audacity!

He snatched it from Marco’s fingers with a curse. The door fell shut behind Nacho and Marco while Sergio turned to the task at hand. Namely, slotting the damn piece of plastic into place to get the door unlocked.

Sergio was still struggling with the door when Gerard appeared at the end of the corridor, later than anyone else, trailing far behind. His voice sounded weary. “…I know, Leo, I will… Thanks. Bye.”

Gerard ended the call just as he was about to walk past Sergio.

Sergio blinked at him, having forgotten all about Gerard’s ordeal until now.

“Hey,” he said, trying to catch Gerard because for some reason that eluded him he needed to make sure things were all right.

Sergio’s fingers closed around the bent of Gerard’s elbow.

Gerard paused. He looked tired and still rather pale and not at all like he was a part of the best team in the whole damn world. Sergio wanted to reach out and smooth out the sorrowful crease of Gerard’s brow. How odd.

“What got your panties in a twist?” Sergio asked. “We fucking won. And I’m pretty sure you just fell for your soulmate so you should be over the moon.”

Gerard tried to walk away but Sergio was still gripping his arm.

“Oh no you don’t. You won’t be spoiling this moment for the rest of us, walking around like your pet bunny just died. You have no fucking reason to–”

Gerard shoved him into the wall. “No fucking reason?” He snarled.

Sergio let out a small gasp and tried to wriggle away. “Fuck.”

“Has it maybe occurred to you that my alleged soulmate–”

Sergio lost track of the words. All he could focus on was the way Gerard’s body was pressing into him, how close they were standing. Gerard was all he could see and smell and feel. He was still gripping Gerard’s arm, fingers digging into the skin.

He couldn’t shake himself from his daze. Gerard was raging on, tone harsh and eyes incredibly bright. With his free hand, Sergio grappled at the card and finally managed to slot it through the lock. The door opened and Sergio ducked away from Gerard, quickly making his way through the door.

Gerard barrelled through after him before Sergio managed to shut the door in his face.

“–everything is so bloody easy for you,” Gerard was saying, stabbing a finger into Sergio’s chest. “Yes or no, wrong or right. No in-betweens.”

That wasn’t fair to Sergio. He knew about the mismatched marks. It just wasn’t all that common and it definitely wasn’t the first assumption you’d make when someone realized they were crushing hard.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know you were so lame you couldn’t score even your own soulmate,” Sergio replied.

Gerard let go of him as if burned. His expression fell and the hollow look from before was back. Shit.

“No. Wait,” Sergio quickly snuck between Gerard and the door.

Gerard crossed his arms but when Sergio charged at him, he took a step backward, further into the room. Nice.

“Unsolicited soulmarks suck, I get it. I just don’t want you to be miserable tonight.”

“You don’t know jack shit,” Gerard said, obviously still high-stung.

“I know how to take your mind off things,” Sergio offered, encouraged by the curious tilt of Gerard’s head.

“Yeah?”

“Oh, hell yeah.” They didn’t need to be friends for this. Just a bit of mutual attraction and a convenient setting. “Let’s forget about everything. Blow off some steam.”


	3. Chapter 3

Sergio sunk down to his knees and licking his lips, he looked up at Gerard.

“What are you doing?” Gerard hissed, sounding bewildered.

Sergio smirked, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue and watching in amusement as Gerard’s eyes grew dark with understanding.

“You can’t…”

“Believe me, I can,” Sergio chuckled, reaching out to give Gerard a small shove toward the bed. Gerard went with it, moving backward until he reached the edge of the bed, letting himself topple down onto it while keeping his legs planted on the floor.

Sergio allowed his lips to curl up in a smile because with Gerard splayed out like this, he knew there was no going back. If Gerard was to push him away and refuse the comfort Sergio offered, it would have happened already.

Sergio settled himself in the V of Gerard’s legs and reached for Gerard’s fly, fingers quickly finding their way inside.

Gerard tossed his head back and made a choked off sound, something between a moan and a laugh. “The shirt stays on,” he warned.

Sergio could understand that. “Sure, no problem. But lose the pants or no deal.”

Gerard helped Sergio get the pants off, then shimmied out of his boxers as well. Sergio didn’t wait for either pieces of the clothing to hit the floor before getting his hands back on Gerard.

Gerard cursed, shaking his ankle to fully free his leg from his pants. His shirt rose up a little as Sergio’s hands clasped around his waist to keep him down and Gerard made a low, displeased sound, quickly tugging at the shirt to get it back to cover his stomach.

Sergio felt a spike of something achy in his chest but chose to ignore the emotion causing it. He moved his hand from Gerard’s waist to lace their fingers together, helping Gerard tug the shirt down.

Gerard was all riled up and Sergio only knew one failsafe way to take the edge off. He pressed his mouth to the inner side of Gerard’s thigh, mouthing the words around his kisses as he went up. “I don’t want to know,” he assured Gerard. “I don’t care.”

Gerard took another shuddering breath, fingers letting go of the hem of his shirt and sliding into Sergio’s hair.

“I don’t care,” Sergio murmured again, nosing at the warm skin and letting his teeth drag along it. He licked a stripe of skin on his way up, teasingly close to Gerard’s crotch but not close enough, only to watch Gerard squirm and try to slide closer to Sergio and the comfort his mouth could provide.

Sergio watched him, saw the way his eyes fluttered shut, saw the way his lips parted, so plush and kissable – but Sergio wasn’t here to focus on that. Gerard kept his eyes closed, even as his hand moved to stroke the side of Sergio’s cheek and then push down against the side of his neck.

Sergio understood that, too. With his eyes closed, Gerard could imagine whomever he wanted, whomever he truly desired.

Sergio chose a spot below Gerard’s hipbone, then he opened his mouth and sucked and nibbled, marking the skin, leaving something tangible that would remind Gerard of this moment.

Gerard could pretend all he wanted but Sergio wouldn’t let him forget this.

Gerard’s other hand left Sergio’s hair, Gerard choosing instead to take his cock into his hand, impatient as ever, giving it a few quick strokes. Sergio stopped marking his skin, letting go with an audible pop and reaching to still Gerard’s hand. If this was the only moment he got, he wanted it to go his way.

He rested his chin on Gerard’s thigh, looking up at Gerard, fingers closing around the base of his cock and giving it a slight squeeze. “I want to taste you.”

Gerard groaned and his fingers dug into Sergio’s shoulder as he yanked Sergio closer. “Stop fucking talking.”

Sergio smirked, the _make me_ a clear challenge in his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn’t awkward – much – the following day. It was just that when their eyes caught across the room or above the heads of their teammates, Gerard would get this distant, cold look and break the contact.

Sergio wasn’t sulking.

He was happily distracted with all the instagram vids they had to make and all the pictures and jokes and everything. He had no time to mope.

On the plane back to Madrid, Sergio saw very little of Gerard. The one time he caught Gerard’s attention, he was passing by him on his way to the snack bar.

The thoughtful look Gerard was giving him stopped Sergio in his tracks.

“You want anything?” Sergio asked.

Gerard’s gaze fell to Sergio’s lips for just the briefest of seconds but Sergio saw it.

“Some soda would be nice, thanks.”

Sergio opened his mouth, then closed it again and got Gerard his fucking soda.

“Thanks,” Gerard said, already turning away from Sergio, pretending to see something interesting out of the window of the plane. He popped the lid of the can, taking a sip.

Sergio lingered, watching him closely, giving him the chance to talk about – whatever.

Gerard rubbed a hand against a spot on his chest, close to his heart. Perhaps it was the mark, Sergio mused.

He put a hand on Gerard’s shoulder, ignoring the way the man tensed up. “I’m sure it will work out,” he told Gerard.

“Wouldn’t be so sure,” Gerard mumbled.

Sergio pated his shoulder. “Let me know if I can do anything.”

Gerard barked out a laugh. “Yeah sure.” He turned his head to give Sergio a wry smile, then his gaze flickered to Sergio’s lips again.

Sergio chuckled. “Even that.” No one said it had to be a one-time offer.

He would swear Gerard’s cheeks turned slightly pink. He left Gerard to his musings at that, step a little lighter as he went to join the rest of the guys.

**…**

After landing in Madrid, they went through a mad series of meetings, interviews, photoshoots, parades and posing with the trophy for the fans in general. The rooftop party at the end of it was awesome but ended too soon to Sergio’s liking.

“Everyone’s half-asleep already,” Pepe said, nudging Sergio back to their bus.

“It’s not my fault you’re all a bunch of old farts,” Sergio protested, kicking Iniesta’s sneaker as they went past him. Iniesta’s head lolled from side to side but he didn’t wake from his sleep. Wuss.

Reluctantly, Sergio accepted that the party had already winded down and let himself be hoarded to the bus with the others. The ride was a quiet affair, the drop of adrenaline rush finally getting the better of their team. It seemed that Sergio was the only one who was still too ecstatic to sleep.

They were staying at a hotel in Madrid, a different one than Sergio was used to with Real. The night skyline of the city was familiar and yet not quite what he was used to seeing from his home or their usual hotel. He was standing by the balcony, watching the city, trying to wrap his mind around the events of the past two days. It still felt like a dream from which he’d be woken up any moment by Nacho pounding on the door of his hotel room, shouting for Sergio to get ready for their last practise before the final match.

There actually came a knock on the door but it was so quiet Sergio probably would have slept right through it if he wasn’t still up.

“Gerard?”

“I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Sergio moved aside and gestured for Gerard to get in. “No.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Me neither,” Sergio nodded.

Gerard’s eyes flitted across Sergio’s face.

Sergio shifted his weight. “Did you want something?”

“No. I–”

“Use your big words, big guy.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking,” Gerard said.

“Well, you didn’t come here to talk, did you.” Sergio arched his brows.

“Actually,” Gerard sighed. “About the other night–”

“Yeah, me too,” Sergio interrupted, since Gerard wasn’t getting anywhere. He crossed the distance between them, pressing his mouth to Gerard’s. Gerard made a little surprised noise but got on with the program pretty fast, deepening the kiss, one hand grabbing the fabric of Sergio’s shirt and pulling him closer.

“I didn’t–” Gerard started, quite out of breath when they pulled apart.

Sergio pressed his fingers to his lips. “It’s okay.” He didn’t want to hear it.

They climbed on Sergio’s bed, Sergio kneeling up, tugging his shirt over his head and tossing it aside.

“I know, I know,” he murmured, placating, when Gerard’s hand curled protectively over his own torso. “No peeking.”

He pressed his thumb into the skin bellow Gerard’s hipbone, just on the edge of the love mark he left there the previous night.

Gerard took a shuddering breath, rocking against Sergio. “Fuck–”

“Yeah, let’s.”


	5. Chapter 5

The following morning was the team’s last breakfast together.

“Breakfast of the champions!” David cawed, piling seven stripes of bacon onto his plate.

Sergio watched the dripping mess half appalled, half envious. “Wow.”

David caught his stare, licked his fork and pointed it at Sergio. “You wouldn’t know what’s good for you if it bit you in the ass.”

Iniesta snorted. “Yeah, you really wouldn’t.”

Across the table, Gerard nearly choked on a piece of his toast. Jordi helpfully whacked him across his back, efficiently bringing tears to Gerard’s eyes.

Sergio scowled at him as Gerard wheezed, pushing a glass of orange juice across the table to him. Sheesh. Iniesta’s remark wasn’t even that funny.

“I’m really fucking glad I don’t have to babysit you losers any longer,” Sergio muttered. He wasn’t glad though, he was sad that everyone in their team was about to go their separate ways.

Iniesta watched as Gerard dabbed his chin with a paper napkin, then turned his squinty eyes at Sergio. “I can understand that.”

“Aw, man. I though you loved our brand of crazy,” Isco protested, tilting his head into Sergio’s shoulder like a cat.

Sergio patted his hair. “Couldn’t live without you.”

“Cheers to our captain!” Isco offered, holding up a glass of something that better not be beer this early into the day.

“Captain oblivious,” Iniesta muttered under his breath but held out his glass regardless.

**…**

Barely two hours later they checked out of the hotel and were ready to leave, a bus having arrived to shuttle those who needed it to the airport.

Gerard was nowhere in sight, Sergio noted.

He headed for the lifts before realizing he already returned his card and the lift wouldn’t open for him. With a sigh, he took the stairs, jogging up the nine flights of stairs.

The door to his old room was wide open, the cleaning service already making sure everything was spotless for the next guests.

Gerard’s room down the corridor had the door thrown open as well and Sergio almost turned back but then he decided to check the room anyway, since he was already up there.

There was a heavy duffel bag holding the door open. Bingo.

Sergio stepped inside, pausing in the doorway and knocking on the opened door. “Did you finally manage to drown yourself in the shower or something?” He called out.

“Fuck off, Sergio,” came a prompt reply from the bedroom.

Sergio poked his head inside and found Gerard sitting on the bed that was neatly made.

“Did you make up the bed?” Sergio asked, trying to express his incredulity by arching one eyebrow. His efforts were wasted on Gerard, though, because he didn’t even look up from his phone. The screen was black and Gerard had just been staring at it blankly. “You know they’re just going to strip everything clean regardless, right?”

“Fuck off,” Gerard repeated.

“The bus for the airport leaves in five,” Sergio informed him. “You’re late.”

“Shit. What time is it?” Gerard thumbed at the phone he was holding in his hands. The white numbers of time popped up and Gerard swore. “Lost track of time.”

Sergio eyed Gerard’s phone, then made an educated guess, “Were you… talking to someone?”

Gerard sighed, getting up from the bed and smoothing out the dent his ass made on the covers. “I tried but the call didn’t go through.”

“Hm.” Sergio gestured for Gerard to leave the room. He would follow close behind and take the lift with Gerard so he wouldn’t have to walk down all the stairs.

“You’re not going to the airport, are you?”

“No. I don’t want to travel for like, at least two weeks,” Sergio sighed happily, already imagining all the lazy mornings he’d get to have.

Gerard chuckled. “See you,” he said, grabbing his duffel bag, casting a quick glance at the entrance of the hotel room and then leaning in to press a lightning quick kiss to Sergio’s temple on his way out.

Sergio’s heart skipped a beat because that… that definitely hadn’t been a part of their _arrangement_. That was needless and pointless and _nice_. Gerard didn’t do nice, did he?

Sergio could still feel the tingling warmth on the skin where Gerard’s lips brushed against his temple.

“You coming downstairs?”

“No,” Sergio said tightly. “I need to check on Nacho and Marco.” He gestured to the other room.

“Ah. Sure,” Gerard shrugged, stepping into the lift, not even raising an eyebrow because unlike Sergio, he didn’t know that Nacho and Marco had already boarded the bus.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Sergio finally made it down to the lobby, the bus was about to leave. He had already said his goodbyes to everyone and he was in no hurry. Finally, no more time schedules to keep in mind.

Gerard and Iniesta were talking animatedly by the exit of the hotel. When Sergio approached, they abruptly fell silent. 

Iniesta gave Sergio the stink eye, shot one disapproving glare at Gerard, grabbed his duffel bag and with a stilted wave he walked outside to the waiting bus. He paused by the side, trying to stuff his bag into the underneath compartment of the bus and managing to knock down someone’s rucksack. He grabbed it from the pavement and hastily shoved it back.

Amused, Sergio watched the scene through the glass panes from the lobby. “What crawled up his ass?”

“Nothing.” Gerard looked down at his phone and then pocketed it with a heavy sigh.

“Still not picking up?” Sergio asked, eyes on Iniesta who, on his third try, managed to stuff both his duffel bag and someone’s rucksack to the compartment.

“Leo’s probably just busy,” Gerard said but he didn’t sound like he believed it himself.

“Hm.”

“Sergio?” Gerard waited for Sergio too look at him, then fired off in a rapid succession, “Leo was supposed to housesit for me, he has the keys and all since they wrapped it up earlier, you know? And I thought… Well, I really don’t want to spend any more time crammed in a plane than necessary, you know, and he’s not answering my calls and so I was thinking, if you would mind terribly if I crashed at yours for a couple of days?”

Sergio didn’t quite see why Gerard wouldn’t just take the plane and then, if he still couldn’t get a hold of Messi, crash at one of his Barça bros’ place. And anyway, didn’t he keep the spare keys?

“Yeah, sure. No problem,” he said. “Let me get my car.”

“Cool.”

Sergio heaved Gerard’s duffel bag into the trunk of his car. “Christ. What’s it that you’ve got in there?”

Gerard fished out his sunglasses, pushed them up his nose, smile curling up his lips. He shut the trunk door closed. “Better if I don’t tell you. Plausible deniability and all.”

Sergio turned on the ignition first, then he checked his mirrors and fastened the seatbelt.

Gerard shook his head at the practise but didn’t make a single comment about the warming up ritual. Smart boy.

Gerard settled into his seat and asked, “Mind stopping somewhere for lunch?”

“I know just the place,” Sergio nodded, put the car into gear and sped off.

**…**

Sergio didn’t realize he had been expecting Gerard to jump him the moment the front door shut behind them until Gerard… didn’t. Gerard just followed him into the house, dropped his duffle bag in the middle of the hallway and parked his ass on the couch in the living room.

“If any blood seeps into the floorboards, I’m making you clean it,” Sergio called out, eyeing the heavy, odd-shaped bag.

Gerard just laughed at him. Sergio heard him switch on the TV and figured Gerard could entertain himself for a while.

He checked his post, made a few phone calls, promised his sister they would get to see him soon, unpacked his things and snuck a few treats to the neighbour’s cat. Or maybe it was his cat now, who really knew with these creatures.

When he joined Gerard on the couch, he didn’t come empty-handed.

“Pizza?!”

“You’re welcome to get yourself something else, the kitchen’s all yours,” Sergio said snidely, then stuck out his tongue to catch a dangling bit of melted cheese.

“No, I mean,” Gerard tore into the boxes, freeing one slice and immediately biting into it. Olives and anchovies. Sergio _knew it_. “Iz’gnfkup’o’mtb’sm,” Gerard finished with his mouth full.

“Well, I love pizza and I didn’t get to have one in the past three months and that’s just not right.” With relish, he shoved the rest of the crust into his mouth and dug in for another slice.

Gerard followed his suit.

They stayed up late, demolished the pizza and watched more TV than advisable.

Gerard hadn’t tried anything, not even once. Suspicious.

“If you want to grab a shower,” Sergio yawned, getting up from the couch, “I’ll get the guest room ready.”

“Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your kudos and comments mean A LOT, you're amazing! Thank you all. :)


	7. Chapter 7

“Hey, Sergio?”

Gerard was a dark shadow standing in the doorway to Sergio’s bedroom. Sergio sat up on his bed, putting aside his laptop. He shifted his back to the bedside lamp so he could see Gerard better in the lower light.

“Come in,” Sergio urged, trying not to sound eager.

“Thanks.” Gerard moved closer but paused at the feet of the bed. He was wearing dark boxers and a threadbare grey shirt with long sleeves that made Sergio wonder how far down his arm did Gerard’s soulmark go.

Sergio patted the bed, then tugged at Gerard’s hands to get him to settle down.

“Sergio, I wanted…”

Their gazes caught, the silence stretched.

Sergio couldn’t look away. He shifted towards him, hooked his leg around Gerard’s and nudged him closer. Gerard’s shins dug to the edge of the bed. Sergio’s fingers itched to touch and stroke. “Yes?”

“I wanted to…” Gerard’s voice trailed off for the second time. Their hands were still clasped together.

Sergio wasn’t a patient man.

He let go of Gerard’s hands and grabbed him by his shoulders instead, pulling him down, hungrily pressing his lips to Gerard’s. Gerard went down with a little gasp but he managed to put his arm above their heads to keep his weight up, hand denting the mattress, fingers spread apart to give him more leverage. With his other hand Gerard cupped Sergio face, adjusting the angle of their kiss.

Sergio arched up, needing more friction. He must have made some kind of noise because Gerard was shushing him, thumb stroking his jaw, then moving lightly over his throat, down to the centre of his chest where it paused, resting over Sergio’s rapidly beating heart. Unlike Gerard, he wasn’t wearing any shirt to the bed and he shivered when Gerard’s fingers started moving again, zigzagging to his stomach and slipping under the waistband of Sergio’s boxers.

“More of that,” Sergio gasped, breaking the kiss. He tilted his head up to stare into Gerard’s eyes. In the soft light of the room, they looked like an ocean and Sergio was drowning. He closed his eyes and erased the gap between their mouths again.

Gerard bit on his lip and then licked into his mouth and time started existing in different measurement entirely.

Sergio clenched his hands into the fabric of Gerard’s shirt and Gerard – Gerard jerked away, frantically prying Sergio’s fingers off.

Sergio let go, plopped back on the bed and stared at Gerard in confusion.

Gerard shifted away, carefully smoothing down his shirt that must have rolled up when Sergio clutched at the fabric.

“I don’t care,” Sergio said, impatient, hand reaching out to tap a staccato rhythm against Gerard’s chest.

Gerard smacked his hand away. “You never do, you prick.”

Sergio opened his mouth but his words got stuck in his throat and before he managed to work his way around the sudden lump in his throat, Gerard’s phone started ringing somewhere down the hallway.

With a curse, Gerard swung his legs off the bed. Sergio hurried to sneak his arm around Gerard’s waist but Gerard wrenched himself free, got up from the bed and quickly left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Sergio groaned, shoved his hand down his boxers and finished himself off with a few quick strokes.

He lay awake for a few moments, staring up at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath and calm his heart.

Gerard was on the phone, voice muffled, words incomprehensible through the walls. Gerard’s tone was sharp and tense, his answers short.

Sergio snuck closer to the door but he couldn’t tell who Gerard was talking to and he still couldn’t understand a word Gerard was saying. Damn it.

The phone call lasted about twenty minutes and then ended abruptly. So abruptly, that Sergio didn’t even have time to move away from the door.

Gerard burst inside, eyes zeroing on the bed. He frowned when he didn’t see Sergio there and swivelled around to find him.

Sergio barely had time to grab a few t-shirts from his wardrobe and pretend to be busy folding them. That would explain his proximity to the door, nice and easy.

Gerard leapt at him.

“Gerard, I–”

Gerard pressed him against the wardrobe and kissed him as if his life depended on it.

“What–” Sergio started, trying to pull away but Gerard latched onto him again. Gerard held him tightly in his arms, pressing their bodies together. Sergio felt dizzy from the sudden lack of air in his lungs.

His fingers went slack, the t-shirts fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Gerard kicked them aside and stepped even closer, sliding his leg between Sergio’s and making a wet, needy sound low in his throat.

Gerard was still wearing his stupid shirt that covered him from his neck to his stomach and Sergio wanted so, so much to touch his naked skin, to feel the warmth under the palms of his hands.

Gerard rocked into him, slumping forward, one hand pressing snugly into the small of Sergio’s back, leaving him no space to move at all. Sergio was glad he had the wardrobe behind his back because he was sure he wouldn’t be able to hold their weight otherwise.

Well, Sergio was still gross but his cock was getting interested again.

His hands drifted to Gerard’s abs, kneading into the skin over the shirt. When Gerard didn’t protest, too preoccupied by thrusting his tongue into Sergio’s mouth in a filthy, desperate rhythm, Sergio dared to put his hands higher, palms sliding up, fingers splayed over Gerard’s ribcage. He kept working his way up until his hands were high on Gerard’s chest.

Gerard jolted when Sergio’s fingers accidentally brushed over the edge of his mark.

Before Gerard could yank himself free again, Sergio quickly replaced his fingers with his mouth. He pressed his lips to where he thought the mark was and breathed wetly onto it.

Gerard’s erection was pressing into him and Sergio moved his free hand to give it some much needed attention.

He felt Gerard shudder against him with a noisy moan. Encouraged by the sound, Sergio pressed his tongue against the thin fabric and it soaked through under the touch. The texture felt odd but he could finally feel the entrancing warmth of the skin.

The skin was so hot under his tongue that he couldn’t help but lap at it, stroking the script of Gerard’s mark through the shirt, nose buried into the soft skin at the side of Gerard’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent.

Gerard’s hips jerked against Sergio helplessly, breath catching in his throat, lips parting in a silent cry as he came undone.


	8. Chapter 8

Sergio was neither surprised nor disappointed when he woke up to an empty bed. Really.

Really, really. Because why would he have expected anything else.

He didn’t think anything of it the last time when they were at the hotel with the rest of the team so why should this be any different.

Sergio got up from the bed, grabbed a quick shower and paddled to the kitchen to fix them breakfast.

The house was suspiciously silent and Gerard wasn’t in the living room watching some crappy TV show like Sergio thought he might be.

Gerard wasn’t on the veranda either.

Sergio thought Gerard would be either by the pool or catching some sun rays in the garden but when he stepped outside, the only living thing that greeted him was the neighbours’ cat.

At least someone was pleased to see him. The cat trotted to him, tail high up, the tip curled like a question mark.

“What do you want, you rascal?”

“Mrrrow,” said the cat, sniffling Sergio’s bare shin with rapt concentration and then rubbing its cheek against it.

“Okay, okay.”

“Mrrrow!”

“Oh, I know. Sheesh. I didn’t even have breakfast myself, you know?”

Sergio set down a bowl of kibble for the little pest. The cat immediately started ravishing it.

“How do you cope when I’m not here?” Sergio asked it, shaking his head.

The cat gave him a slow blink, somehow managing to make it look condescending, and continued to chew loudly.

“All right then.”

He returned inside and took out some milk and eggs from the fridge. He cracked the eggs into a bowl, added a splash of milk, broke the yolks with a fork and added some oatmeal.

Gerard could still be in the guest room, fast asleep, Sergio pondered. It was beneath his dignity to go and check. Plus, Gerard’s sunglasses were on the kitchen counter and Gerard would hardly venture anywhere without them.

Sergio added some black pepper and a tiny pinch of salt.

Gerard could have forgotten them in his haste to get away.

Sergio had crossed the line last night. What the fuck was he thinking, feeling up Gerard’s mark.

Sergio halved the tomatoes and tossed them in a pan. He put in some onions, too. And jalapeños. Couldn’t go wrong with jalapeños.

He knew how _touchy_ Gerard was about the mark. Sergio had barely got Gerard’s shirt tugged up a bit and Gerard was ready to run. And then he run for real, quick to ditch Sergio and rush to pick up the phone.

It was probably someone important calling. Maybe even Gerard’s soulmate.

Huh.

So it couldn’t have been love at first sight. Because Gerard had the mark before they even got back to Madrid. Gerard already had the mark and knew right away it wasn’t mutual.

How the hell did he know that, Sergio wondered.

And then it hit him. Like a two-by-four.

Gerard’s soulmate was already taken.

Gerard didn’t fall for some random person in a crowd, he already knew his soulmate. That was why Gerard was so anxious that Sergio would see the mark. Because Sergio was there when Gerard got the mark. Sergio would know who it was if he saw it. Sergio must have heard the first words Gerard’s soulmate told him once Gerard realized he was in love. Sergio knew Gerard’s soulmate, too.

A picture flashed through Sergio’s mind.

Iniesta.

Iniesta was there with them on the night of Gerard’s marking and he was standing right behind Sergio. And Sergio thought Gerard was spacing out when in truth he was looking at Iniesta, starry-eyed.

And Iniesta was, indeed, already taken.

On autopilot, Sergio poured the eggs over the onions in the pan. They were already turning brown instead of golden. Sergio paid it little mind because his thoughts were all over the place.

Gerard had laughed so hard at Iniesta’s lame joke the following day. Gerard thought Iniesta was funny. That was a rather obvious sign Sergio missed. People always laughed at stupid comments the person they were in love with said.

The omelette sizzled and Sergio turned down the heat. He took out a plain yogurt from the fridge and some fresh cherries. He washed them, put them on a towel to dry and got out a wooden cutting board.

More images came to his troubled mind.

Iniesta had been giving Sergio dirty looks. Iniesta was obviously miffed that Gerard didn’t fly back to Barcelona with him. Was Iniesta really just clumsy when he was trying to shove his bag in the underneath compartment of the bus or was he trying to buy some time, hoping Gerard would change his mind and join them at the last minute?

Holly hell.

He even saw Iniesta staring at Gerard’s lips across the table at their last breakfast at the hotel.

“Mismatched marks,” Sergio choked out. “Not bloody likely.”

Sergio should have been suspicious the first time Gerard claimed his mark was mismatched. He should have known it. Maybe marks weren’t anything unusual but mismatched marks were something that would raise an eyebrow or two.

Sergio would even dare to say that mismatched marks were rare. An unfortunate anomaly. One person would realize they loved someone and that someone was perfect for them. Alas, that said someone would never return the feelings, probably because they were in love with someone else altogether. Yeah. Pretty rare.

Most soulmates realized they really were a perfect fit, sooner or later.

He ought to tell Gerard his moping was pointless, that he should just talk to Iniesta and it will all be okay because their pining was mutual.

It would mean Gerard would be catching the first plane to Barcelona.

The thought shouldn’t be so unsettling, Sergio mused with a frown. Gerard had a bloody soulmate whom he loved, Sergio knew he was there just to take his mind off things. He knew it.

He just needed a little reminder, is all.

He needed to tell Gerard – if Gerard was still in the house. Gerard deserved to be happy. And okay, the situation could use a little improving, the explaining Gerard would have to do was unenviable and it was going to be a mess, figuring out how to be soulmates with someone who was already married.

Another thing was that Gerard’s timing was rather unfortunate because to play together for years only to realize just how deep Gerard’s feelings run the moment Iniesta’s time at Barcelona was about to be over – well, that sucked.

Long distance relationships sucked.

But. Bloody hell, Gerard and Iniesta were _soulmates_. Everything was worth it if they ended up together.

Sergio’s surprising reluctance to be the one to break it to Gerard was irrelevant.


	9. Chapter 9

Sergio licked his fingers because the juice from the pitted cherries got under his fingernails. He added the cherries to the yoghurt, washed the cutting board and then his hands. He took the omelette off the heat completely and set the table.

He wanted to finish getting breakfast ready before he went to knock on the door to the guest room. Better to have an excuse in case Gerard wasn’t thrilled to be woken up from his sleep.

He was just adding some fresh lemon squeeze into a jug of water when the floorboards creaked, giving away Gerard’s presence in the kitchen.

“Morning. Slept well?” Sergio managed to make it sound casual but then he made the mistake of turning and looking at Gerard.

“Good morning,” Gerard yawned, hands stretching above his head, gripping the door frame. His hair was sleep-tousled and there were red marks on his face from the pillow. “Are you making _breakfast_?” He rubbed at his eyes sleepily.

Sergio’s heart started beating faster. With Gerard’s hands raised up like that, his shirt was revealing a tiny sliver of skin of his stomach. “What does it look like? Of course I’m making breakfast.”

“I figured if there was breakfast it would be more like, reheated leftovers from yesterday.”

“What leftovers?” Sergio snorted. “The last slice of pizza you fought me for?”

“Um. Well.” Gerard let out another yawn and scratched his stomach. Sergio’s eyes followed the movement, noticing the fading love mark he had left there the other night. Something cold and heavy curled up in his chest. Why did he want to mark what wasn’t his, he thought bitterly.

Gerard noticed Sergio’s stare and folded his arms across his stomach, worried about revealing his mark as usual.

“Oh yeah. About that,” Sergio said, taking in a long breath.

Like ripping of a band-aid. Quick and painful.

He opened his mouth to say it but Gerard made a face and interrupted him. “Can we not now?”

“It’s important,” Sergio insisted.

“Let me have breakfast first.”

“Sure,” Sergio shrugged. Gerard took his sweet time realizing how important Iniesta was to him so a few more minutes wouldn’t kill him. “It can wait till after breakfast.”

Gerard cut into his omelette and made an appreciative sound.

Things seemed to be going well, Sergio thought as he watched Gerard shove another forkful into his mouth.

**…**

“So…,” Sergio drawled once they finished eating and Gerard looked at least eighty percent more awake and ready to cope with the news Sergio had for him. Everybody thought better with their stomach full. “About–”

Gerard shushed him by a sharp wave of his hand. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“What?” There wasn’t anything _Gerard_ should be sorry about. “What for?”

“You wanted to talk about the mark, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, of course.” Sergio pushed his chair back a bit and watched closely for Gerard’s reaction. “Because I figured it out.”

Gerard went perfectly still. “Say that again?”

“Uh. About your soulmark. I figured it out.”

It was like the night of Gerard’s marking all over again. Gerard was suddenly ashen, his eyes got that haunted look and his hand trembled slightly as he took a stalling gulp of water.

Sergio took pity on him. “Look, I can understand why you didn’t want me to know. Why you didn’t want anyone to know. But it’s okay, really.”

Gerard looked up at him. “How is any of that okay?” He sounded so miserable and defeated that Sergio had to reach across the table to place his hand on Gerard’s to offer a bit of comfort. Gerard stared at Sergio’s hand as if he had never seen a human hand before. Maybe he only just now noticed the new tattoos?

“It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone,” Sergio assured him, giving Gerard’s hand a little squeeze.

“Right.” Gerard took in a shuddering breath. “How did you figure it out anyway?”

“I actually realized because you tried so hard to keep it hidden, you know?” Gerard was still staring at his hand oddly so Sergio reluctantly pulled back. “I don’t think I would even recognize the sentence. Man, I was so buzzed and barely paying attention.”

Gerard’s expression turned even more pained, like there was no joy left in the world. Actually, he looked like he was about to cry.

“But the way you freak out anytime I go anywhere near the mark, that was a pretty good clue.”

“Fuck.” Gerard hung his head low and pinched the bridge of his nose, then put his face into his palms.

“Plus. You got the mark and right away you were like, oh shit, this isn’t mutual,” Sergio explained. He didn’t want Gerard to think he was being reckless about hiding his mark. It was just that Sergio had been there throughout it all and saw the clues. It was important that Gerard didn’t think he screwed up and gave his secret away. “So it must have been someone you already knew. The media wouldn’t catch on or anything. You don’t have to worry.”

Gerard kept hiding his face behind his hands. He really had it bad for Iniesta. Sergio guessed that was the intensity of a soulmate’s relationship.

Sergio scooted his chair closer to Gerard. Time to put a stop to Gerard’s suffering. “Anyway, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

“It’s not?” Gerard sounded incredulous, voice muffled by his hands.

“What I wanted you to know is that… that it’s mutual.”

Gerard’s head snapped up. He was breathing so hard Sergio could see his nostrils flare.

Sergio nodded slowly, giving Gerard time to take it in. “Gerard, you have to realize it’s mutual.”

Gerard’s eyes shone brightly, a strange emotion flickering across his face. Sergio thought it look a lot like fear but not quite. Clearly, Gerard was shaken by the news. That was understandable. The poor soul had assumed he stood no chance with Iniesta.

“I mean, the distance is going to be a pain but it’s nothing insurmountable. There are like, planes. And free weekdays. Sometimes.”

Gerard looked at him reverently, like the words Sergio was saying were a lifeline. His mouth was gaping open but he hadn’t yet managed to find his voice.

Sergio didn’t think he ever saw that much hope in someone’s eyes.

“Look, no one likes to hear about the retirement but it will just make things easier for you once you’re not playing, okay? Then you’re free to do whatever, wherever.” Sergio paused. “Although, I hope it’s not in Japan.”

_“In Japan?”_

“I’d miss you,” Sergio said truthfully.

“Miss me,” Gerard parroted. “You’d miss me.”

Sergio hoped he didn’t say too much.

“Of course I would, you big goof,” he said hastily, making sure to keep the tone light.

Gerard was staring at him as if he grew a second head. “Of course,” he chimed.

Sergio mustered a smile. “Iniesta is lucky to have you as his soulmate. You’ll make it work, I’m sure of it,” he said, patting Gerard’s shoulder comfortingly. He was really getting better at these pep-talks. The perks of his captaincy, he guessed.

“Sure,” Gerard echoed dully.

“You’ll make it work,” Sergio repeated.

Gerard still seemed to be at a loss of what to say. He looked just as likely to burst in tears as into peals of laughter.

“I really hope you do,” Sergio said, though he had to admit it didn’t sound too earnest.

“Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hands tissues to every gullible soul who thought getting them to talk would be a good thing*


	10. Chapter 10

“Okay, then.” Sergio slowly stood up from the table. Now that he told Gerard about the requited soulmates thing he should feel better, right? Only, he didn’t.

The same uneasy feeling was still there, coiling in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe normally.

Gerard’s mind was obviously reeling. He was sitting all stiff, staring down at the table, wringing his hands and not meeting Sergio’s eyes.

“Glad we had this talk,” Sergio said, even though it felt like the talk got them nowhere.

He picked up their plates and glasses and loaded the dishwasher while Gerard rested his head on the table, face down, hands raking though his own hair, creating ever bigger mess.

Sergio wiped down the kitchen counter, then took a clean dry rug and went to get the crumbles from the table. He did his side first, then moved to Gerard, teasingly poking at Gerard’s chin to make him raise his head. The moment he was done wiping the table under Gerard’s head, Gerard let his head fall back down with a groan.

Sergio let out a chuckle.

Gerard lowered his hands to his lap and turned his head to watch Sergio. There was no mirth in Gerard’s eyes.

Sergio tried to give him a reassuring smile but he felt rather wrong-footed himself.

“Sergio?”

“Hm?”

Gerard took a steadying breath. “These past few days–”

Sergio gulped. He thought he might choke on thin air if Gerard were to _thank him_.

“You’ve been– It’s been–” Gerard stumbled through his words and Sergio felt the need to cut in.

“Listen, I know we aren’t tight. But, well, I’m here if you need to sort out some shit or something, okay?”

Gerard shook his head and closed his eyes. He actually looked rather miserable for someone who should be halfway through the airport security already. At least, Sergio would be if he had a soulmate who loved him back. There would be no force in the world that could keep him away. But here Gerard was, at Sergio’s breakfast table, looking pitiful. Looking like he could use a hug.

With a huff, Sergio sat back down next to Gerard. “What is it?”

Gerard shook his head again, worrying his lip and refusing to speak up.

“If he were my soulmate,” Sergio started quietly, “I wouldn’t doubt him like you do. I would want to be with him, as close as possible in any way he’d have me, you know?”

“Ah.” Gerard made a choked off sound. “ _I know_.”

“Like, it wouldn’t matter, what he would want us to be. It would be okay, just to be with him, around him, to see him. Gerard, you must have heard the stories yourself, soulmates always find a way to be together.”

“Stop talking,” Gerard croaked out in a horrible, rasping sound that made Sergio narrow his eyes at Gerard.

“Are you still in denial?”

“What?”

“I know things are a bit complicated with Iniesta but you have to make it right, Gerard. You can’t just sit here forever, hiding.” _And jerking me around._

“I know that,” Gerard said, voice tight. “It’s not forever. It’s just… to buy me some time.”

Why Sergio needed to spell it out for Gerard was beyond him. “Look, being soulmates with someone, that’s… that’s the stuff that gives your life joy. You should give it a try. You _need_ to give it a try.” 

Gerard snorted.

“You need to talk with Iniesta. Tell him.” 

“And then what? Put him on the spot?” Gerard gave Sergio a nasty look, then he went on, “Can you even imagine what he’d feel like, if I just walked to him and be like, um, hey, I know this is completely out of the blue but I love you and you’re my soulmate so please love me back?”

“That’s–”

“That’s not giving him much of a choice, is it? Especially if we need to keep meeting and working as a team. I’d be forcing him into it.”

“You don’t know that,” Sergio objected. “You’re just guessing. You’re a coward and an asshole for not telling him. Also, you don’t actually need to work together anymore, so that’s not an excuse.”

“Shut it.”

Sergio waited a heartbeat or two but then he made up his mind. It didn’t matter if it made Sergio feel rather queasy. Gerard needed to leave. “Gerard, I’m okay with fooling around when it’s just your mistake to make but now that I know about Iniesta? It’s not about me and you, it’s about you and your soulmate and I won’t be helping you fuck that up.”

Gerard slowly blinked, then asked, “You think it was a mistake?”

Sergio would do anything to give it a try if he knew he had a soulmate and here Gerard was, giving up before even trying. “Look, I get it, okay?” He could understand the fear of rejection, the sheer terror of making things even worse. But Iniesta wouldn’t be Gerard’s soulmate and Gerard would have never gotten the mark in the first place if they weren’t meant to be, right?

Right.

“Okay, sure, I don’t have a mark but if it were my soulmate, I would tell him.”

“Shut up, Sergio. Just shut up!”

“I didn’t mean to–” _upset you_. Why the hell not. “You know what? It’s your life, you do whatever the fuck you want. I couldn’t care less if you want to fuck it all up.”

Gerard sat upright and burst out, “I know, okay? I know you don’t give a jack shit about my mark or about me so could you at least stop pretending you do? You said it yourself, you don’t care, so you shut your bloody mouth and stop preaching about things you know nothing about, you prick.”

Sergio felt the anger boil in his veins. “I said I don’t care about the mark. But seeing you here torturing yourself, what good does it do, hm?”

“Fuck you.”

“You want to play a martyr, be my guest. But what about Iniesta? How is that fair to him? Since he is your soulmate, you might be his and you have no right to take that chance from him.”

Gerard slammed his hand against the table, raising his voice. “I said shut your bloody mouth! You don’t know anything!”

“I know that Iniesta–”

“Fuck Iniesta! He’s nothing to do with this! Sergio, you–”

“Nothing to do with this?” Sergio cried out. “How can you say that? Like he doesn’t matter to you! He’s your fucking soulmate!”

“He’s not my fucking soulmate!” Gerard yelled.

The silence that followed was deafening.

“…What?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Gerard bolted up from his chair, looking like he was already regretting telling Sergio that. Figures that the only truth that spilled out from his mouth Gerard didn’t mean to say.

Sergio opened his mouth to ask because he needed to _know_ – but all of the sudden, the sound of the doorbell cut through the tense silence between them.

“Uh. Don’t go anywhere,” Sergio said, making a ‘stay’ gesture with his hands.

Gerard, for his part, seemed to deflate. He settled himself back in his chair, head in hands, ignoring Sergio.

The doorbell rang again.


	11. Chapter 11

“Hi, Sergio.”

Sergio blinked in surprise. “Messi? Uh. Hello?”

“I’m here to speak with Geri,” Messi said, breezing past Sergio into the hallway like it was an absolutely normal thing for him to do.

“He’s in the kitchen,” Sergio said, probably looking as bewildered as he sounded. “Through that door to your right,” he added when Messi raised his eyebrows at him. 

“Nice place,” Messi said distractedly.

“Thanks,” Sergio grit through his teeth, following Messi into the house. He suddenly noticed the bag slung over Messi’s shoulder and eyed it with suspicion. “Are you moving in or something?” He asked briskly.

“What? No, I’m just on my way to– Jesus.” Messi stopped so abruptly Sergio nearly bowled him over. “What did you do?”

Gerard wasn’t at the table anymore but Sergio could still see him from where they were standing in the doorway. Gerard was sitting on the tiles on the veranda, leaning back against the wall of the house and staring up at the sky. He didn’t notice them.

Messi glanced from Gerard back to Sergio. “What did you say to him?”

“Me?”

“Who else?”

“I didn’t say anything to him,” Sergio objected, crossing his arms.

Messi swivelled around, taking a step closer until they were both blocking the doorway, side by side. He looked up at Sergio with so much venom in his eyes that for a moment Sergio wondered if Messi was going to hit him. Or at least try to.

Messi seemed to realize that would be a bad idea and pushed past Sergio into the kitchen instead.

“I didn’t say anything to him, I swear,” Sergio insisted, though why he was defending himself to Messi of all people was beyond him.

“I highly doubt _he_ said anything to _you_.” Messi jerked his head to where Gerard was sitting, visibly upset.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Sergio hissed. He should have probably asked that before letting Messi inside.

“I told you why I’m here. To talk with Geri.”

“You could have just called him,” Sergio pointed out.

Messi rolled his eyes. He patted his pockets and pulled out keys that he set on the kitchen counter. “I brought him his damned keys.”

“Oh. I see.”

“He looks like he could use a friendly ear, though.”

“I guess,” Sergio sighed. “I tried talking to him but… well.”

Messi shoot him another glare. “I think you’ve done quite enough. Let me try for a change, okay?”

“Uh. Okay?”

“Cool. Glad we agreed,” Messi said, grabbing the door to the kitchen and closing it to Sergio’s face.

Sergio blinked at the closed door. Did the little shit just throw him out of his own kitchen? The audacity!

He had no plans of sticking around and straining his ears and generally feeling like an intruder in his own house.

He had places to be. Errands to run.

Yeah. He totally had.

He grabbed his car keys and headed outside. There really were a few errands that needed to be taken care of.

He just needed to check his schedule.

**…**

It was past noon when he was finally done so it only made sense to stop at the place where he had lunch with Gerard and ask them for a takeout. They didn’t actually offer takeouts but all he had to do was ask nicely, pay extra and all the food was handed to him in neat white packages. Microwaveable, he was assured.

Sergio impatiently drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. Here he was, stuck in a traffic jam while the two culés were cosying up to each other under Sergio’s own roof.

Damn it.

It was like that moment Gerard bolted up from the bed to pick up the ringing phone and Sergio was left standing there like an idiot.

Perhaps he was in such a rush to talk to _Leo_. Sergio remembered Gerard talking to Leo on the phone that last night at their hotel room before they flew to Madrid. The two of them surely talked often and they seemed to be really close, too, Sergio mused with a twinge of annoyance.

At a glacier speed, the traffic moved through the city. Sergio fiddled with the radio, kept his fingers drumming into the rhythm. As the minutes passed, he was getting more and more frustrated. The smell of the food wafting through the enclosed space was making his mouth water.

When the urge to slam his fist into the horn and start yelling got too strong, he tore into one of the boxes and picked at a piece of chicken with his bare fingers. At least it was still warm, he thought as he peeled off the crispy skin.

There wasn’t much of the chicken left by the time he parked the car into his garage.

The house was quiet. He rather expected that the chatter of his two guests would be audible from the hallway. “Gerard? I’m back,” he shouted.

There was no answer and for one panicky moment he thought that Gerard had left with Messi without even saying goodbye. His chest tightened and his heart started beating faster.

He hurried into the kitchen, letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding when he saw first Gerard’s sunglasses and then the keys Messi brought him.

“Gerard?” He got no response so, after a moment of hesitation, he called out, “Messi?”

Sergio put the takeout boxes on the kitchen counter, then went to check the veranda and, oh–

Messi was nowhere in sight. But Gerard was there, fast asleep on the porch swing. His right leg was dangling down, brushing the tiles and keeping it from swaying.

The neighbour’s cat was curled up in his lap, snoozing. Gerard had one arm curled protectively around its little body and the cat had its head pressed into the crook of his arm.

The cat’s ears twitched when Sergio quietly slid the door to the veranda open. He took one step outside and the cat’s head snapped up. It blinked at him sleepily, then opened up its mouth in a silent ‘mrrrow’ of a greeting that turned into an impressive yawn.

Sergio stood there for a moment, completely silent, not wanting to break the spell. The cat, having recognized him, settled back down and continued to doze off.

Gerard didn’t even stir. Their last conversation didn’t go quite well and Sergio wasn’t sure if Gerard would be still miffed with him. Gerard looked so peaceful like this. Sergio wanted to commit the sight to his memory.

He kept watching the sleeping duo, eyes raking over Gerard’s sleeping form. Gerard’s chest kept rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. Sergio wanted to curl up next to them, bury his face into Gerard’s wide chest and do things he had no right of wanting to do to someone who had a soulmate.

Sergio opened his mouth and it took three tries for his vocal cords to cooperate. “Hey, Gerard,” he said softly. “Wake up.”

Gerard let out a sigh and cradled the cat closer.

“Wake up, your neck’s going to kill you,” Sergio reasoned. “Gerard.” He liked saying that name. “Gerard. Gerard. Gerard!”

Sergio leaned back against the railing, gripping it for support as he stretched out his leg and nudged Gerard’s right leg with the tip of his sneaker.

Gerard lost his anchor and the swing moved forward, jostling him awake. “Um’waa?”

Sergio smiled. “Hey, Gerard.”

“Hey,” Gerard replied, voice husky from sleep. The smile he gave Sergio seemed to be an automatic response because it fell off his face the moment he got his bearings.

“I see you took a little catnap,” Sergio teased lightly.

Gerard sat up from his slouch. The cat mrowed in protest, climbed up a bit and, after a throughout kneading, it settled on Gerard’s chest.

Gerard kept his head lowered, pretending to be captivated by the cat’s antics in favour of avoiding Sergio’s curious gaze. But there was no hiding the way Gerard’s eyes were glassy and red rimmed.

Sergio’s heart lurched at the sight.

The impulse to step closer and offer comfort was too strong to ignore and he only caught himself in the last moment. “C’mon,” he said, closing the distance between them and reaching his hand to pet the cat. “I’ve brought us lunch.”

The cat sprung to life, registering the smell of chicken on Sergio’s fingers. It tried to nibble on the tip of his thumb and Sergio bumped its nose, none to gently, to get it to back off.

“I’ve got food for you too, you greedy monster,” he assured the cat.

“It worries me that I can’t tell if you’re talking to me or the cat,” Gerard mumbled. He was still avoiding Sergio’s gaze but at least he got up and trailed after Sergio back inside.


	12. Chapter 12

“So. I see Messi’s gone,” Sergio said, voice rising up a little in a question-like statement. The cat was rubbing itself against his legs again, looking hopeful. Sergio scowled down at it but the cat only redoubled its efforts to charm him.

“Yeah, he said his piece and left.”

“Hm.” Sergio grabbed the kibble and the cat trotted outside without needing to be prompted. “He brought you your keys.”

Gerard gave Sergio a confused look. “My keys? What keys?”

“The keys to your house. From the house-sitting,” Sergio reminded him, kneeling down to reach the cat’s bowl.

“Ah. Of course. My keys! To my house,” Gerard said in an odd tone. When Sergio glanced over at him, he found a mild blush on Gerard’s cheeks.

“He left them somewhere on the counter,” Sergio waved his hand. He fed the cat first and when he returned to the kitchen, he found Gerard staring at the takeout boxes. “Don’t just stand there, grab a fork, help yourself,” he admonished.

Gerard shook his head, pocketing the keys that he’d been holding in his hand. “I think I’d better go.”

“Go where?”

“Home,” Gerard mumbled with a tired sigh.

“Go home and do what? Mope some more?” The idea seemed horrifying to Sergio.

Gerard shrugged. “At least I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Look, I meant what I said earlier. I offered a distraction so let me distract you from the mess going on in here right now,” he said, knocking the knuckles of his right hand on Gerard’s head. It got him a faint smile. “I don’t care who is your soulmate but I do care about you and this angsty thing you’re doing to yourself? Definitely not healthy. Stay a while, let me take your mind off things.”

Gerard tilted his head and swatted Sergio’s hand away. “Do you want me to go? Or stay? I don’t even know with you anymore.”

Sergio couldn’t talk around the lump in his throat but he could push against Gerard and latch onto his lips in answer.

“The food’s going to get cold,” Gerard remarked a while later, pulling away.

“It’s microwaveable,” Sergio dismissed and went in for another kiss but Gerard tilted his head away. With a sigh, Sergio let him go. “You’re right. Food first, then training.”

“Training? I didn’t say anything about training.”

“You didn’t think I’d just let you laze around all day, did you?”

Gerard gave him an incredulous look.

“Besides,” Sergio produced two tickets, tapping at them with the tips of his fingers as he pushed them closer to Gerard. “We’ve got places to be later on.”

Gerard’s eyebrows rose when he saw what the tickets were for. “The creepiest places in Madrid?”

Sergio nodded. “Some of it is underground. You’re okay with enclosed spaces, right?”

“Right,” Gerard said quickly. “I think.”

Sergio thumped Gerard on his back. “Good.”

**…**

It wasn’t good.

Turned out it was Sergio who was less than okay with enclosed spaces that reeked of centuries old violent deaths.

Even now that he was back on the surface with no walls closing in on him, there were shadows that kept moving in front of his eyes. He couldn’t shake the sense of being followed and when he squinted he could almost see the blood trailing down the cobbled street they walked. Sergio shuddered.

He was not a fan.

Gerard, however, was excited. “We need to find out if they do this in Barcelona, too. I want to go.”

“Hell no,” Sergio said.

“Hell yes. Do you think they tour the underground, too? That part was fantastic,” Gerard beamed and Sergio couldn’t help but smile back because Gerard’s goofiness was catching.

“Only one way to find out,” Sergio heard himself say.

“It’s a date, then,” Gerard said, still smiling, and Sergio’s heart skipped a beat.

“Oh, okay,” he stammered.

The fondness he felt at that moment didn’t leave him until they were pulling into the driveway.

“Hey, look,” Gerard said, pointing to a shadow that was crouched between two shrubs on the path to the house. “Doesn’t it look a bit like Elena?”

“Bloody hell, shut up!” Sergio hissed at him, paling a little. He spared a very brief glance at the spot Gerard was pointing at only to determine that no, the darkness there was definitely not ghost-shaped, thank you very much.

He still couldn’t help the shudder, though.

Gerard slung an arm around Sergio’s shoulders. “I think you’re safe, your house doesn’t have seven chimneys.”

“Oh? Did you check?” Sergio huffed.

“No worries, I’ve got your back covered,” Gerard chuckled and pressed behind Sergio, nosing at the nape of his neck while Sergio unlocked the front door.

“I hate you, you’re horrible,” Sergio laughed. It was nice, having someone to share these moments with. Someone who mattered.

They stumbled through the door, Gerard still pressed against Sergio. “Liar. You love me,” he teased. “I’m awesome and you love this.”

Gerard spun him around and helped him shrug off his jacket. He kissed Sergio’s forehead, his nose, his lips.

Gerard was right, Sergio thought. He could learn to love this. His heart clenched at the thought and his breath came short. “Gerard.”

“Less clothes, now. C’mon,” Gerard urged, tugging at Sergio’s shirt and pushing him further into the house.

“Bed,” Sergio insisted.

Gerard groaned. “Too far.”

“The guest room,” Sergio said breathlessly. “It’s closer.”

Sergio managed to get his shirt over his head and the moment he did, Gerard’s lips were back on his. Sergio returned the fervent kisses, clinging to Gerard.

He felt like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff.

**…**

“So, I was thinking,” Sergio said, aiming for a pleasant tone. Gerard tensed up anyway.

“Yes?”

Sergio stroked the side of Gerard’s chest over the fabric of his shirt. “About your soulmark.”

“Sergio,” Gerard sighed, withdrawing and taking the covers with him. He ignored Sergio’s whine of protest at the loss of the warmth. “Can’t you just let it go for once?”

“If I saw the words, I would know who is it, right?”

“I guess,” Gerard muttered.

“Well. If it’s not Iniesta–”

“Seriously, Sergio. Drop it.”

But Sergio couldn’t drop it. Gerard’s mark was all he could think about lately. “I heard your soulmate say the words, didn’t I?”

“Let it go, Sergio!”

“What do you mean let it go, this is important.” At Gerard’s annoyed look, Sergio decided to drop it. For now. “Like, what if it’s me?” Sergio joked instead.

Gerard shoved him off. “You’re such a fucking prick.”

Still a touchy subject, Sergio noted to himself. “Oh, Gerard. Am I the love of your love?” Sergio laughed but it sounded hollow and his heart skipped a beat at the thought that Gerard could say yes. Sergio wished Gerard would say yes.

Gerard hastily pulled on his sweatpants. “You’re such a fucking asshole. Why do you always have to ruin everything?”

Alarmed, Sergio thrust his arm out, grabbing onto Gerard to keep him from leaving. “Hold on, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

His remark only seemed to make Gerard want to disappear quicker.

“Let go of me before I break your fucking arm.”

“Gerard! I just wanted to help. To understand what–”

“The fuck you wanted. Thanks for nothing,” Gerard said harshly, yanking his arm free from Sergio’s grip.

“C’mon Gerard. I was just kidding.”

Gerard shot him a glare, not unlike the one Sergio got from Messi not all that long ago. Gerard already had his shirt on, not like he ever took it off around Sergio these days, and he quickly pulled on his boxers and pants. Then, out of nowhere, he grabbed his duffel bag and unzipped it.

Curious, Sergio peeked out over the edge of the bed to see what was inside. The letters on the labels all had unfamiliar shapes but the bottles were tale-telling on their own. “Wow. That’s _a lot_ of vodka.”

“Figured I’d need it,” Gerard said through clenched teeth. He reached into the bag for the odd-shaped lump and pulled it out. The next second it was flung at Sergio’s head.

Sergio caught it reflexively. It was a plush toy, the mascot of the tournament they’ve won.

“It’s Zabivaka, the wolf,” Gerard said.

“I’d rather have the vodka,” Sergio remarked.

“…Of course you would.” Gerard barked out a bitter laugh. He grabbed two of the bottles from his bag and sat them on the night stand, then he zipped the bag again and cast a searching look around the room.

Bewildered, Sergio turned the wolf over in his hands. There was a little bow with a note wrapped around its neck. “I L U,” it read.

Sergio blinked at the note several times. “Gerard…” Sergio looked up and stared at the empty space for a moment too long before it occurred to him he needed to stop Gerard from leaving. He started after him, cursing colourfully when his feet got tangled in the bed sheet. He hastily gathered the sheet around himself, wrapping it around his torso, letting it cover his legs.

“No! Gerard!” Sergio flew out of his guest room, then down the hallway.

He saw Gerard open the front door and walk out without a single look back.

“Gerard, your–”

The door slammed shut.

 _sunglasses_ , Sergio thought nonsensically, feeling the hysterical laugh bubble up inside his chest.


	13. Chapter 13

Gerard opened the door, eyebrows raising up to his hairline, face full of surprise as if he didn’t see Sergio on the security feed before he let him past the gates. “Sergio.”

“Hey,” Sergio piped up.

Gerard crossed his arms. “What do you want?”

That was a really good question and Sergio would have liked to have a proper answer. He rubbed his forehead. “Listen, Gerard. I just wanted–”

“No.” Gerard shook his head, moving to close the door. “No, you don’t get to do this.”

Sergio quickly shouldered past him into the house. Gerard let him, which Sergio counted as a win.

“Gerard–”

“Fuck you. How did you even get in here?”

“By a plane,” Sergio said dryly because needling Gerard had become a second nature to him a long time ago.

“Fucking Jordi, I knew he’d tattle.”

Sergio kept his face carefully neutral.

“Or was it Leo? Did you just keep calling him until he caved?”

“I wished to see you,” Sergio said honestly, interrupting Gerard’s speculations.

Gerard stared at him for a moment with those intensely blue eyes and it was all Sergio could do to look back and keep from fidgeting under the scrutiny. Gerard must have found whatever he had been looking for in Sergio’s expression because with a wave of Gerard’s hand, Sergio was finally invited inside the house.

“Wish granted,” Gerard said, leading Sergio through the house into the living room. “Anything else I can do for you?” Gerard’s tone was derisive.

Sergio gnawed on his lip. “Some soda would be nice,” he said, wondering if Gerard remembered that particular conversation.

Gerard stilled, expression puzzled. “Sure.”

Sergio used the time it took Gerard to get back to compose himself. So far so good, he thought. No reason to freak out. No reason at all.

Gerard sat the drink in front of him. “You didn’t come all the way here for a stupid drink, did you?”

“No. I wanted something else,” Sergio said. His throat went dry at Gerard’s questioning look. Sergio grabbed the phone from his pocket. There was no better reason he could think off.

This time, he had booked the tour online. He flicked to the right screen, sat his phone down on the coffee table and with a push he sent it towards Gerard.

Gerard put his hand down on the table to keep the phone from sliding off, then peered down at it. “What’s this?”

“You promised me a haunted Barcelona tour,” Sergio reminded him in a small voice.

For a moment Sergio thought Gerard would say no to him, walk him back to the door and sit him on a plane to make sure Sergio would be really gone and that he would _stay_ gone. Then something shifted in Gerard’s expression, the look in his eyes losing its edge.

“I keep my promises.”

The weight on Sergio’s chest lifted, his lips curling up in a soft smile.

Gerard snatched Sergio’s phone up. “Now, let’s see the history of the last calls you’ve made, shall we?”

Arms stretched for the phone, Sergio leapt over the table to save his phone. And his dignity.

**…**

“I have to admit, this was way scarier than the tour in Madrid,” Sergio said. He rubbed at his own arms with a shudder.

Gerard stepped closer to him, bumping their shoulders together and then not moving away. The warmth that was radiating from him was seeping into Sergio’s chilled bones.

Gerard used his weight to press against Sergio in a good-natured push. “What was that? Did I finally hear you bow to our superiority?”

“I never said that!” Sergio stumbled a step, then caught his footing. He wanted to lean in and kiss Gerard to shut him up. He couldn’t though, there were people everywhere, watching them while pretending they were minding their own business.

“Sure you did! You just said it!”

Sergio looked up and Gerard held his gaze. Sergio’s breath caught in his chest. The silence between them stretched and Sergio couldn’t tear his eyes away from Gerard’s face.

Gerard’s voice dropped to a quiet whisper. “Dinner? And then my place?”

With a pleased smile, Sergio nodded.

**…**

“I think I ate too much,” Gerard complained.

“That will be extra twenty minutes to your training tomorrow,” Sergio said.

“Ah, I see now. You’re just here to make me exercise.”

“You need the training,” Sergio said, deadpan. He reached out to pat Gerard’s stomach.

Gerard caught Sergio’s hand, pulling it closer to his groin while giving him a look. “Sure,” he said, voice dropping to a low murmur, “I could go for a few more reps.”

Sergio burst out laughing, he couldn’t keep his face straight. “That was– that was _awful_!”

Gerard’s lips spread in a wide grin. Sergio leaned in for a kiss but he was still laughing too hard and had to resort to resting his head against Gerard’s chest to wait out the full body shudders.

Gerard was laughing too, the deep rumble shaking his chest and making Sergio’s heart flutter.

Sergio trailed small, close-mouthed kisses up Gerard’s arm until he reached the joint of his neck. Gerard was still laughing and Sergio kept kissing him, nipping at the skin, teasingly sinking his teeth into the sensitive skin, lapping at the spot with his tongue until Gerard wasn’t laughing anymore but was writhing underneath him instead, making small, keening sounds and rutting against him in earnest.

Gerard’s hands came to grip the back of Sergio’s thighs. “ _Sergio!_ ”

Gerard’s stupid shirt was still between them and Sergio yearned to touch the warm skin hiding underneath. He wanted to feel it under his hands, to map it out with his lips in feather-light touches that would make Gerard shiver and plead.

“Get the lights,” Sergio told him. “Get the fucking lights. I want to touch you.”

Sergio could hear Gerard’s breath hitch.

Then Gerard scrambled off the bed. He drew the curtains, shut the door and the last thing Sergio saw was Gerard licking his lips before the room was plunged into utter darkness.

“Make a sound,” Gerard said.

“Over here,” Sergio replied promptly, blindly stretching out his arm. He still couldn’t see a thing, the darkness was hiding everything.

Gerard hit something on his way to the bed, letting out a low curse, but Sergio couldn’t care less because then the mattress was dipping and Gerard was pressing himself close again.

Sergio fumbled to get his hands back on Gerard.

Gerard shifted to lie on his back, catching Sergio’s wandering hands, entwining their fingers and tugging until Sergio crawled over him.

Sergio leaned down till his lips were brushing the shell of Gerard’s ear, then he said in a low voice, “Let me.”

Gerard pulled away from him at that and Sergio made a displeased sound.

“Lube,” Gerard explained, sounding wonderfully out of breath. “I put it somewhere here… damn it.”

Gerard cast his hand out, searching. His arm bumped into something and in the next second, the alarm clock fell to the floor with a noisy clatter.

Sergio laughed.

“Shut up. Shut up,” Gerard muttered. His fingers must have finally closed around the lube because he made a triumphant noise.

“Been expecting me, haven’t you,” Sergio exhaled when Gerard shifted to get his hands on the cap.

“Who said anything about you?”

“Oh. Right.” In the dark, Sergio couldn’t read Gerard’s expression but Gerard’s lips were on him in no time, insistent, unyielding.

Sergio reached out, running his hands over Gerard’s chest, edging close to where he knew Gerard had the mark. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness but he could finally touch all the skin and hear Gerard’s sharp intake of breath.

The wave of pleasure was imminent and inexplicable. He didn’t think there could be a better bliss.

Without breaking their kiss, Sergio shifted closer.


	14. Chapter 14

Sergio woke up in the morning to Gerard slipping out of the bed.

“Hey,” he said, turning over, trying to catch Gerard’s hand to pull him in for a good morning kiss.

“Don’t look!” Gerard squawked.

Sergio obediently closed his eyes and listened the sounds of Gerard pulling on a shirt until Gerard settled back on the bed.

“You decent?”

“Sure,” Gerard said. He only threw on a shirt, not bothering with any pants. Dork.

“You’ll have to figure something out anyway,” Sergio said. “Especially if it’s not Iniesta.” Chances of Iniesta finding out about a mark Gerard was hiding were slim. If it were someone on Gerard’s team, though–

“What?”

“About the mark. You can’t keep hiding it, not in the locker room and all.” Gerard had mentioned he and his soulmate would have to keep seeing each other even if Gerard told him, so the soulmate was someone Gerard worked with on daily basis. A teammate.

Gerard withdrew from Sergio’s embrace, posture rigid.

Sergio dropped a kiss his to the side of his neck. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring it up.” He added another kiss, this time closer to the mark on Gerard’s chest.

Gerard placed his hand on Sergio’s waist and pushed, like he was trying to dislodge him.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Sergio said and pressed a placating kiss under Gerard’s collar bone. “You’ll just need more undershirts. And concealer.”

“Get off me,” Gerard grumbled.

With a sigh, Sergio complied and slid off. He walked to the window, drew the curtains and tilted the window open to let some fresh air in.

He stood there for a moment, basking in the sun rays.

Gerard was watching him, silent.

“Want to take a shower with me?” Sergio called over his shoulder.

Gerard’s face light up but then his expression fell just as quick. “Nah.”

Sergio rolled his eyes, wishing for enough strength to deal with this idiot. “You can keep the shirt on, you ass.”

Gerard sucked in a breath, then scrambled to his feet.

Laughing, Sergio disappeared into the bathroom. “Hurry up.”

**…**

They were curled up on Gerard’s sofa, some tennis match Sergio couldn’t care less about playing on TV in the background. Gerard seemed enthralled, though.

Sergio watched Gerard’s face instead. The way Gerard’s brows would furrow every now and then, the way he’d scowl or smile, according to how the set was going.

Gerard’s arm was around Sergio’s waist and his fingers were absent-mindedly stroking his side, leaving goose bumps in their wake.

Sergio didn’t bother to put on his shirt but Gerard’s shirt was back on again, and Sergio couldn’t stop scowling at it. It had been so liberating to get it off the other night. He could touch the skin, lap his tongue at where he thought the mark was and with every brush of skin against skin would come a surge of warm affection that still made the base of Sergio’s spine tingle when he just thought about it.

Before he knew it, he was touching the mark again over Gerard’s shit. His fingers were tracing random patterns into the fabric.

Gerard caught his hand and dropped a kiss to the back of Sergio’s hand, eyes still glued to the TV screen.

Sergio rested his head in the crook of Gerard’s arm and neck, Gerard kept their hands linked.

Sergio wanted to learn the name of every stupid player Gerard liked just so that he could cheer for their opponents. For now, he could at least distract Gerard.

He snuck his hand under Gerard’s shirt, edging closer and closer to the mark.

His thumb brushed the edge of the mark and Gerard let out a little gasp, lips parting and eyes finally tearing off the screen to look at Sergio instead.

Sergio slowly stroked the marked skin, enjoying the shudder he got from Gerard. He asked, “So, who is it?”

He regretted the question the moment it left his lips but it was too late to take it back. Sergio felt a jab of jealousy, hot and coiling in his gut like a viper.

He’d asked Gerard that exact question once already, back on the bus. But back then he genuinely wanted to know the answer.

Now he couldn’t bear to know it. He didn’t want to know, he didn’t want to be reminded of someone else to whom Gerard should belong.

Gerard whipped his head around to look at Sergio face to face, nose to nose. Gerard’s eyes were wide, disbelieving. And incredibly blue.

Sergio was drowning again.

He wanted to be with Gerard. He wanted to be exactly where he was now, in Gerard’s living room, curled up with him on the sofa in a tangle of limbs. He wanted to be here today, tomorrow, five years from now–

The realization stole his breath away and made his heart clench. He felt dizzy. He knew what was bound to happen before Gerard opened his mouth.

He had fallen for Gerard.

This should be the happiest realization of his life and not… this. He shouldn’t have made fun of Gerard that night of his marking. This was fate’s payback, he was sure of it.

Gerard blinked, once, twice and then he said, “It’s you, you idiot.”

They had joked about that before. But back then Sergio thought it was _funny_. Now, to his absolute horror, Sergio felt the words starting to crawl into his skin.

The words etched into his back, warmth spreading from his left shoulder down to his shoulder blade and then reaching all the way to his lower back. The whole left side of his back was burning with the sensation, he couldn’t even tell where the mark started or ended. It was as if every bit of skin was on fire but there was no pain. Sergio shifted and the skin on his shoulder blade erupted in sensation too overwhelming to bear.

Sergio let out a low moan.

Shit.

 _Shit._ He had to get away before Gerard would notice. Gerard had a soulmate already and would not appreciate Sergio pining after him.

Gerard’s soulmate. Fuck. Sergio should have tried harder to push them together instead of fucking everything up the way he usually did by ahem, inserting himself into it.

Gerard noticed Sergio’s odd reaction and a small worried line appeared on his forehead.

Sergio didn’t know how many markings Gerard had seen but if nothing else he had his own for a reference so it was just a matter of time until Gerard figured it out.

Sergio had seen many markings and he thought himself lucky, often daydreaming about what it would be like to also have a mark.

Now he knew.

He wished he didn’t.

There was nothing magical about this moment. Why did he ever think it was a beautiful moment when there was nothing sweet about it.

It was too much, too overpowering.

Sergio realized his fingers were still pressed over Gerard’s mark. Sergio snatched his hand back.

“Hah. Of course it’s me,” Sergio tried to joke but his voice came out in horrible croak. “Like you said.”

Gerard was looking down at him, alarmed, the tennis match on the TV long forgotten.

It must have been written all over his face, Sergio thought. Hell, it was written all over his back.

He could feel it, the spot on his shoulder blade that stayed warm and tingly, the words having settled.

Gerard made a strange sound and grabbed Sergio to turn him around so that he could stare at Sergio’s back.

Gerard saw the mark and everything came to a halt.

“Sergio,” Gerard whispered.

Sergio flinched and tried to get away. “Oh, yeah, very funny.” Gerard’s grip on him was too tight.

“It is, isn’t it?” Gerard said, laughter creeping into his voice, Sergio could hear it.

“Hilarious,” Sergio snapped.

Gerard started laughing, letting go of Sergio. “You! Hahaha, man. Only you–!”

Sergio jerked away from him. Gerard tossed his head back and was laughing so hard he was wheezing, unable to form words. He was clutching at his chest as he listed to a side, laughing.

Sergio blinked rapidly because there was mist forming in his eyes.

Damn it. This was a disaster.

Gerard saw the mark and was _laughing at him_. At Sergio being so stupid to fall for him _after_ he learned Gerard already had a soulmate.

Sergio bolted before Gerard had the chance to compose himself.

The words of his mark were fitting, he really was an idiot.

He angrily wiped at his cheeks.

“Sergio!” Gerard yelled after him but Sergio wasn’t stopping for anything in the world. “Sergio, wait. Wait!”

He fled from the room, picking up his clothes as he went. He pulled the shirt on over his head, shrugged on his jacket and nearly wrecked his neck while stomping down the stairs.

“Sergio! I was–”

 _kidding._ Gerard was just kidding. Sergio knew he was but it only made everything so much worse.

His mark was a joke.

He tore out of the house in a record time, grabbing his things and slamming the front door as he went. He could still hear the echo of Gerard’s laughter ringing in his ears.

The tears wouldn’t stop coming and Sergio wiped at his face again in frustration as he hightailed out of Gerard’s house.

It was a grave mistake to come here in the first place.


	15. Chapter 15

It was already getting dark by the time Sergio finally got home. He walked to the house, too drained to feel anything anymore. Even the way his clothes brushed against the mark was something he got used to after a couple of hours and he no longer shuddered each time his skin stretched.

He was about to open the door to his house when he registered a movement out of the corner of his eye. He walked to the veranda with trepidation.

Gerard was there, idly swaying on the swing, the neighbour’s cat curled up in his lap.

Rooted to the spot, Sergio stared at him as if he’d seen a ghost.

Gerard was watching him warily. He looked like shit, pale and tired, hair a little wild. He managed a weak smile, waving his hand. “Sergio,” he said, voice hoarse from the lack of use.

Sergio didn’t want to talk about what happened.

His feet carried him to the veranda regardless.

The cat blinked its sleepy eyes open when Sergio approached. It stretched its front paws, then flopped its head down again and settled into contented snoozing on Gerard’s lap.

Gerard stroked its back, his hand making the cat seem small and frail.

Sergio couldn’t stop staring. “Gerard? How–? What–?”

“You said it yourself. The distance’s nothing insurmountable.” Gerard shrugged.

The cat rose and fell with the motion. Displeased, it stood up on all fours. It walked up across Gerard’s chest and for a moment it looked like it might settle there but it continued to climb until it decided to perch on Gerard’s head. Gerard let the cat do its thing, even when the cat started trying to lick his hair into submission.

What a dork, Sergio thought fondly but didn’t say anything.

“I caught a train right after you left,” Gerard explained after a moment. “Unlike your flight, we had no delays.”

“Oh.”

After a particularly painful-looking yank on his hair, Gerard grabbed the cat and cradled it in his arms instead. 

The cat struggled to rise up, choosing to put its front paws on Gerard’s shoulder and nuzzle its head into the side of his neck. Gerard didn’t seem to mind the snuggle hold.

“Any chance I can invite myself in?”

Sergio watched them for a moment. Despite everything, it was nice to see Gerard, to have him here. “Fine. But the cat stays outside.”

Gerard tilted his head to whisper faintly in the cat’s ear. “He’ll come around, don’t you worry. I know he will, trust me. Just give it time. You need to outstubborn him.” Gerard stroked the cat’s head and it was nosing into his palm, all content. Then Gerard cleared his throat and asked Sergio, “Does it have a name?”

Sergio had no idea. “Gremlin,” he said.

Gerard laughed.

Sergio’s heart did a little funny flip. “There’s just not any getting away from you, is there,” he said resignedly.

“Like you’d want to,” Gerard said but the sentence sounded more like a question.

“Get inside,” Sergio said. “Both of you.”

There was a silence between them again as Gerard followed Sergio into the house. Sergio opened the front door and gestured for Gerard to come in. He heard the cat’s purring when Gerard walked past.

Gerard offered to feed the cat to which Sergio had no objections. Then they both fell silent again and it got to the point where Sergio thought it was getting tense. He waited for– _something_.

The cat kept crunching its dinner.

Sergio’s stomach was a flutter of nerves, he couldn’t even think about food without starting to feel sick.

His thoughts kept circling back to one frightening fact – Gerard knew about Sergio’s mark.

Sergio had no idea what Gerard was doing back when he _knew_. Why was he in Sergio’s house, looking at him with expression too complicated for Sergio to read, why was he here when there was nothing more to be said between them.

Sergio was the first to break the silence. “Why did you come here, Gerard?”

He thought Gerard wouldn’t be the type to gloat and make Sergio’s life even more miserable. Then again, Sergio could still hear that damned laughter that followed him out of Gerard’s house back in Barcelona.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Sergio said.

Gerard opened his mouth, then shook his head, biting his lip. “You know how you told me I should tell my soulmate he’s my bloody soulmate in the first place?”

Sergio got defensive. “I didn’t need to tell you anything. You fucking saw it!”

Gerard run a hand over his face. “Sergio.”

Sergio crossed his arms and glared at Gerard, defiant. “What. It’s true.”

The cat jumped onto the couch, then paused momentarily when it noticed the plush wolf. It cautiously walked over, giving the toy a throughout sniff before lowering itself down, folding its paw under itself, its side leaning into the wolf’s soft fuzz.

“Hey, you kept it.”

Sergio eyed the ground. He did keep it, didn’t he. Damn it.

Gerard sat down on the couch, next to the cat and the toy wolf. “I think you might have been right. About taking the chance, about trying.”

“Oh. So you came to tell me that?” Why was Gerard like that. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. “Did my mark made you realize you need to find your soulmate and finally fess up?”

“Yes. No. Well, kind of,” Gerard said in a quick succession, then he drew in a breath. “I came to tell _you_.”

“Tell me what?”

Gerard made a frustrated grunt and then he grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked it over his head in one swift motion.

Sergio gulped. “Gerard,” he said, trying to sound exasperated. This was exactly how he got himself into this situation.

But he wasn’t saying no.

Gerard looked up, eyes meeting Sergio’s appreciative gaze. “Um. I didn’t mean…” he trailed off.

“What, you saw mine, I should see yours?” Sergio sniggered, gesturing to Gerard’s chest. The mark was wasn’t big enough to be legible from where Sergio was standing.

Gerard rubbed a hand over his face again, shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry about that, you know?” he said.

Sergio took no pleasure in annoying Gerard like this. “I know.”

“Sorry for laughing. I didn’t think you’d ever… I was just too happy.”

“Happy,” Sergio echoed with a scoff. “About what?”

“Has it perhaps occurred to you,” Gerard said, petting the cat without looking at it, “that if you got a bloody mark, it means I _must_ be _your_ soulmate?”

“Oh.” That had, in truth, not occurred to Sergio. He was too busy thinking about the fact that Gerard wasn’t his. “And that’s something to be happy about?”

“Anyone could be happy to have you as their soulmate, Sergio.”

“Well, it’s not anyone, it’s you. So.” Sergio shuffled his feet. “You’re not happy. Obviously.”

“I _am_ happy!” Gerard insisted, voice raising. The cat pulled away from him, turning on its side and curling into a ball with its back to them.

“Yeah, sure,” Sergio said, voice dripping sarcasm. “You look positively overjoyed.”

“I am! I am glad I’m your soulmate because you’re mine!”

Sergio stared.

And then he stared some more.

He must have heard that wrong. Surely. “What?”

Gerard let out a low whine. “I meant to ease you into that.”

“What? Are you serious right now?”

Gerard gestured to his chest, to his mark. Sergio stumbled forward, eyes seeping into the letters to make out what they said. His heart was pounding in his _throat_.

There it was. Gerard’s mark. With the first words Sergio said to Gerard, only seconds after Gerard realized he was in love.

_So, who is it?_

Sergio read it over once, twice, thrice – he couldn’t stop staring. The dark question mark at the end of the sentence, the familiar scrawl. He had asked Gerard that same question again and it got him his own mark.

Sergio felt light headed, swaying on his feet and staring at Gerard’s mark like he was afraid his eyes were deceiving him and if he blinked the mark would disappear.

He stared for so long that Gerard was looking at him a little worriedly.

Sergio blinked. The mark was still there.

Sergio collapsed on the couch.

“Are you okay?” Gerard asked Sergio, turning to face him. 

“More than okay,” Sergio managed to say. He was delighted. He was over the moon. He was reaching out to Gerard and pulling him in a tight hug. And he was never letting go.

“More than okay, huh? And here I was, thinking I was ‘too lame to score my own soulmate’,” Gerard said, breaking the hug and pulling away just enough to stare down at Sergio.

“Fuck,” Sergio said. “I told you… Fuck.”

“You also called me a coward and an asshole,” Gerard reminded him helpfully.

Sergio rested his head against the couch, squeezing his eyes shut, then blinking them open again. “ _Fuck._ I didn’t mean it like that, you know?”

“I know,” Gerard said, smirking.

Sergio had a feeling Gerard would keep bringing it up for the next foreseeable future.

“You were right about one thing, though,” Gerard continued gleefully. “It _is_ mutual.”

Correction. Sergio was _never_ living this down. “I didn’t mean it like that either!”

“In that case, you can start making it up to me by thoroughly apologising.” Gerard tapped a finger against his lips.

“I’m not going to apologise! It’s your fault, you should have told me in the first place instead of assuming things.”

“You shouldn’t have assumed either.”

Sergio bristled. “I wasn’t assuming anything, I was just trying to figure out how to help!”

“Well. Falling for me helped.”

Sergio punched his shoulder, hard enough to hurt. Gerard kept smiling and when he caught Sergio’s eyes, he tapped his lips again.

Sergio didn’t say anything because he didn’t need to apologise, he really didn’t. But he closed the distance between them and gave Gerard the kiss he wanted.

It wasn’t a chaste kiss. Not with Sergio straddling Gerard’s lap, not with Gerard’s hands cupping Sergio’s ass, not with all the little moans and gasps.

It wasn’t a short kiss either and it was far from innocent.

Gerard broke the kiss, tugging at Sergio’s shirt and gesturing to the mark, asking wordlessly. Sergio nodded, sliding down the side of the couch and sitting on the floor, his back to Gerard.

Gerard let out an audible exhale as he reached out.

Sergio’s skin was sensitive, tingling under Gerard’s touch. A sense of elation washed over him. It felt wonderful and he never wanted Gerard to stop caressing the mark.

Luckily, Gerard didn’t seem to want to stop anytime soon. His fingers were lightly touching the skin on Sergio’s back, tracing the letters in slow, reverent strokes.

Sergio fidgeted under the attention, feeling hot.

Then the fingers were replaced by Gerard’s lips and a shudder run down Sergio’s spine. He arched his back, head tipping back, mouth falling open to let out a breathless gasp.

“You look so good like this.”

“All yours,” Sergio said, tone playful.

“Want you,” Gerard breathed out.

“Then get down here,” Sergio said and grinned when Gerard all but fell forward to the ground, turning to Sergio so they were facing each other.

Gerard leaned in, bumping the tip of his nose against Sergio’s.

Sergio’s grin grew wider.

“So. You still feeling optimistic about soulmates always making it work?”

“Yes. Yes, I do,” Sergio replied. “You?”

“Hell yeah.”

Gerard kissed his lips.

Sergio splayed his hands over Gerard’s pecks, staring down, finally seeing the mark. He felt every intake and exhale of Gerard’s breath. His heart was beating fast, too.

Sergio mouthed kisses along his collar bone, down his chest. He bit into the skin, teasing.

“We wasted so much time,” Sergio said.

“Your fault,” Gerard replied.

“Yours,” Sergio insisted. Gerard bent his head to kiss him silent and Sergio happily deepened the kiss.

They drew apart for breath. “I want to–”

There was a sudden crash from the kitchen, followed by heartbreaking mewling.

Sergio and Gerard looked at each other, then started laughing.

“Fucking Gremlin,” Gerard grumbled.

“Told you.” Sergio rubbed tiny circles against the small of Gerard’s back. “Ignore it.” He slid his leg between Gerard’s, hand trailing down to cup his erection through his boxers.

Gerard sucked in a breath. “I don’t think– ah.”

“Don’t think.” Sergio kissed down his stomach, pulling off Gerard’s boxers. Gerard reached for him, hands grabbing the back of Sergio’s thighs, blunt fingernails digging into the soft skin.

The cat’s caterwauling intensified.

“Bloody hell.”

“You go.”

“It’s not my bloody cat.”

They both went to investigate.

The cat was meowing noisily by the door, wanting to be let out.

Gerard walked to the veranda, sliding the door open. The cat stood there a moment, staring at the opened door.

Sergio sat down at the table, drumming his fingers against the chair, watching them with a smirk playing on his lips.

The cat rubbed itself along Gerard’s legs, then finally walked out in small, measured steps. 

Gerard slid the door shut behind it so quickly it was a wonder he didn’t clip its tail.

The cat sat down on the veranda, not even two steps away from the door, and started licking its paw, then rubbing behind its ear.

“Bloody nuisance,” Gerard said, glaring daggers at the tiny creature.

“I thought you liked cats?” Sergio snickered.

“I’m starting to have doubts about this one,” Gerard grumbled and they both watched as the cat leaped over to the swing, kneaded the pillow and flopped down to continue napping.

“Aw, but it really likes you.”

“I’d like it much better if it didn’t try to ruin my fun. Which reminds me. Where were we?”

Sergio was laughing too hard to form a reply but Gerard didn’t seem to mind, striding over to Sergio and hauling him up on his feet. Then they were both rushing through the house, trying to reach the bedroom and keep kissing at the same time.

**…**

It was some time later that Gerard climbed on the bed, pulling Sergio down with him. Sergio turned to his right side and watched as Gerard fluffed the pillows. His eyes were heavy. It’s been a long day. Too much travelling, too many emotions that he felt.

It still felt a bit like a dream. They won the trophy. He found his soulmate. His soulmate wanted him back.

Sergio was going to wake up tomorrow and his _soulmate_ would be here.

“What are you grinning about?”

Sergio patted the spot next to him and watched Gerard scoot over. “Nothing. Just thinking about how the plans for my lazy mornings got upgraded.”

Gerard smirked. “Lazy mornings, huh? Want to know what I’m thinking about?”

“What?”

“That you’re running out of kibble,” Gerard said.

“It’s not my cat,” Sergio shrugged.

“Sure not.”

“…Just write it down on the shopping list in the kitchen. It’s on the fridge.”

Gerard’s lips curled up in a small smirk. “I already did.” He set his alarm, put his phone on Sergio’s night stand, then switched off the lights.

Sergio listened to the rustle of the bed sheets, suddenly reminded of the last time they were together like this. “Hey, Gerard? Turns out I do care. A lot.”

“That makes two of us.” Gerard dropped a kiss to Sergio’s shoulder, right on the edge of the mark.

Sergio smiled, pulling the bedcovers around them.

“I still can’t believe you chose that moment,” Gerard shook his head.

“I didn’t quite choose it, you know. Or did you chose yours?”

“No. But I chose you.”

Sergio huffed out a laugh. “You’re so fucking corny.”

“Don’t you love it?”

“Smartass.”

Gerard wrapped his arms around him, pulling Sergio back against his chest. Sergio melted into it and as he shifted, he could tell the exact moment their marks aligned, brushing against each other, sending shivers down Sergio’s spine. Gerard let out a small gasp and his arms squeezed Sergio tight.

“I’m glad it’s you,” Sergio said.

“Like it could be anyone else.”

Even when Gerard eased off his grip, Sergio could still feel the warmth eloping him. The pleasant tingling that refused to go away. Comforting and gentle.

Gerard kissed him behind his ear. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Sergio echoed, closing his eyes.

Gerard’s warm fingers were still tracing the shapes of the individual letters of the mark on Sergio’s back. It was incredibly pleasant and if Sergio wasn’t so tired, he’d be arching into it like a cat being petted.

“Sergio?”

Sergio was almost asleep. “Hm?”

“Why on earth did you think Andrés loved me?”

“…Nevermind.”

Gerard loosely threw his arm around Sergio’s stomach, moving to lie down more comfortably, letting Sergio settle against him. “No, really. Why would you think he loved me?”

“Who wouldn’t?” Sergio mumbled drowsily.

Gerard’s quiet chuckling was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who has been cheering me on with their comments, kudos and hand-holding: THANK YOU! ♥


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